Spring-protecting device for railway-car couplings.



No. 670,256. Patented Mar. I9, |90I. W. THORNBURGH.

SPRING PROTECTI'NG-DEVICE FOB RAILWAY GAB CUUPLINGS.

(Application led Apr. 30, 1900.)

WITNESSES. Z' El -4- INVIENTOR. j @7M @7% I .Attorney Unir-.tan StartsWILLIAM THORNBURGH, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

SPRING-PROTECTING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY-CAR COUPLINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 670,256, dated March19, 1901.

Application filed April 30, 1900. Serial No. 14,802. (No model.

To all whom, t r11/ay con/cern.-

Beit known that. I, WILLIAM THORNBURGH, a citizen of the United States,residing` at Detroit, county of lVayne, State of Michigan, have inventeda certain new and useful Improvement in Spring-Protecting Devices forRailway-Car Couplers; and I declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part ofthis specification.

My present invention has for its object certain new and usefulimprovements in a springprotecting device or housing for railway couplerattachments, and I carry out my invention as hereinafter described andclaimed, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 isan inverted plan view showing certain parts in horizontal section. Fig.2. is a view in perspective of my improved box-followers. Fig. 3 is ahorizontal section through the draft-spring housing and portions of thebox-followers. Fig. 4. is a vertical section through the box-followers.Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-section through the boX- followers, showing amodification.

This invention is designed as an improvement upon a device of this classfor which Letters Patent of the United States No. 606,316 were grantedto me June 28, 1898, and is a further embodiment of the general idea andpurpose of the said patented invention. In the progress of carconstruction it is found desirable to still 'further increase the springpower or tension in railway coupler attachments, and my invention isdesigned to further secure these results. Said patent embraced twobox-followers, each constructed with asingle spring-chamber, in each ofwhich chambers a spring or springs were located. My present inventionaims more especially to provide box-followers with a greater number ofspring-chambers, the number of said boxfollowers and chambers beingcapable of being increased indefinitely, so as to secure any amount ofdesired spring power or tension. At the same time my present inventionaims to get an equal compression upon all the to, my present inventionis designed for employment with the well-known Master Car- Buildersyoke, spring pocket or housing, and also to facilitate the removal ofparts in case repairs may be required. Accordingly, A and A representtimbers,and B represents a`drat't-spring housing engaged with saidtimbers. The draft-spring housing may be of any desired construction, inthe instance shown said housing being provided with side Walls B' B2.The housing may be formed either as embodied in United States Patentgranted to me August 24, 1897, No. 588,722, or as embodied in UnitedStates Patent granted to me June 21, 1898, No. 606,102, or said housingmay be constructed in any other suitable manner, inasmuch as my presentinvention has no special reference t0 the style of draft-spring housingemployed. In the housing herewith shown the side walls B/ B2 areconnected by a rear wall B3, said side walls being engaged with theabove-mentioned ti mbers in any suitable manner. Moreover, said sideWalls, as shown, are formed 011 their adjacent inner faces withshoulders or stops b Z) toward the rear thereof and with similarshoulders b o toward the front thereof, forming intermediate recesses b2192, respectively.

D is the draw-head, and E its shank.

F represents draft-springs of any desired construction and arrangement.

C is a customary yoke.

G and H represent two chambered box-followers. As shown in the drawings,each boxfollower is constructed with plural spring-receiving chambers,the box-follower G being provided with chambers g g' and thebox-follower H with spring-receiving chambers h and h', in each of whichchambers islocated one or more springs. These box-followers G and H areconstructed and arranged so as to IOO are forced the one toward theother.

limit each others movement in a direction the-one toward t-he other. Oneof the box-followers, as the follower H, is formed of separable sectionsto facilitate the el'lgagement or disengagement of the parts. As shown,each of the box-followers isconstructed with side and end walls and anintermediate partition. Thus the box-follower G is formedl with sidewalls G' and G2, with end walls gT and g8, and with an intermediate wallg2. The two side walls for a portion of their length and adjacent to theend wall g3 and the partition g2 are shown recessed, as indicated at g3and y, ou their upper and lower edges. The box-follower H has each ofits sections formed with side walls H' and H2, with end walls h2 and h3,and with an intermediate partition h4. The side walls H and H2 arerecessed along one end thereof and their adjacent edges, as indicated ath5 and h6, to receive the adjacent cut-away or recessed portions of thesides G' G2 of the corresponding box-follower. So, also, the adjacentedges of the side walls H H2 are held together from longitudinaldisplacement in any suitable manner-for example, one of said walls beingrecessed, as indicated at k7, and the other provided with a shoulder hs,fitted into said recess. It is obvious that the recessing of the sidewalls of the box-follower G forms shoulders g5 and g6 at the inner endsof said cut-away portions, while also the cut-away portions of the saidwalls H H2 form shoulders Wand h1@ at the inner ends of the recessed orcut-away portions. The box-followers G and H are interlocked the onewith the other, the end walls h3 of the box-follower H being locatedover or outside the partition g2 of the boxfollower G, the partition h4of the follower H having a similar engagement over the end wall g8 ofthe follower G. In this manner the end wall g2 of the follower G isadjacent to the intermediate partition of the follower H, while thepartition of the follower G is adjacent to the end wall h3 of thefollower H. The cut-away portions of the followers G and H are ofsufficient length to allow a desired longitudinal movement of thefollowers the one toward the other, the shoulders g5 g6 and hg h1,together with the partitions and adjacent end walls of thefollowers,etfectually limiting the movement of the followers in eitherdirection, so as to equalize and limit the compression of all thesprings, the adjacent portions of the two box-followers abutting whenthe portions are fully extended and when they This limitation andequalization of the compression of the springs will be effected as thefollowers travel in either direction.

I do not limit myself to any particular number of springs employed norto any particular number of chambers in the followers which may beemployed. I may use a cluster of springs in one or more of the chambersor double springs or a single spring in each The springs may be arrangedtanchamber.

dem, or twin springs may be employed, one lying alongside the other.

rlhe yoke C is shown engaged' with the draw-head shank and with the rearbox-follower.

There twin springs are employed, the boxfollowers may simply be madewider to accommodate said springs.

I do not limit myself to interlocking the two box-followers in theprecise manner herewith shown and described, as a box-follower providedwith plural chambers may be interlocked with another box-follower in anysuitable manner within the scope of my invention, the two box-followershaving a limited movement the one toward and from the other and wherebythe one will provide a stop to the movement of the other in either or inboth directions. The sides of the box-followers may be supported in therecesses of the draft-spring housing.

It will be observed that one of the chambers of one follower iscoincident with a corresponding chamber of the other follower.

What I claim as my invention isl. In a spring-protecting device forrailway coupler attachments, a chambered follower, a spring located insaid follower, an additional follower provided with plural chambers, andplural springs arranged within the chambers of said additional follower.

2. In a spring-protecting device for railwaycar coupler attachments, twofollowers each constructed with plural chambers, the plural chambers ofeach follower being arranged the one in advance of the otherlongitudinally of the car, and springs located in said chambers.

3. A spring-protecting device for railwayI couplers consisting ofbox-followers, each provided with plural longitudinallyarrangedchambers, a spring housed in each of said chambers and separated therebythe one from the other at their adjacent ends, said followersconstructed to abut the one against the other to limit the compressionof said springs.

Lt. A spring-protecting device for railwaycouplers consisting of interlocked chambered boX- followers, one of said followers constructedwith plural chambers, springs located in the chambers of the followers,and

one of said followers constructed of separable' sections to engage theinterlocking portion of the other follower.

5. A spring-protecting device for railwaycouplers consisting ofboxfollowers, and springs located in said followers, one of saidfollowers constructed with end walls and an intermediate partition, andhaving recessed sides adjacent to one of said end walls and saidpartition, the other of said followers formed of separable sections,each section constructed with end walls and an intermediate partition,the sides of said sections at one end thereof constructed to tit uponthe recessed sides of the first-mentioned follower and to contact attheir opposite ends, the partition of each section and one of the endwalls IOO IIO

thereof arranged to interlock over one of the end walls and thepartition of the corresponding follower, said followers having a limitedmovement the one relative to the other to limit the compression of saidsprings.

6. In a spring-protecting device for railway coupler attachments,interlocked oharnbered box -followers constructed to abut the oneagainst the other to limit the compression of the springs, one of saidfollowers provided with plural chambers, and springs arranged within thechambers of said followers.

7. In aspring-protecting device for railwaycar coupler attachments, twofollowers each constructed with plural chambers, the chambers of eachfollower arranged the one in advance of the other longitudinally of thecar,

WILLIAM THORNBURGH.

Witnesses:

N. S. WRIGHT, M. HIcKEY.

